The Suicide Squad Chronicles
by FosterStinson
Summary: When the A.R.G.U.S. Board of Directors get together they formulate a plan to pull a group of supervillains from prison and send them on dangerous missions that could potentially end in their deaths.
1. The Selection Process

As Amanda Waller walked into the meeting for the A.R.G.U.S. Board of Directors all she could think about was how angry she was at the Justice League. They had just battled the alien warlord Darkseid, _again_ , and left Metropolis in ruins, leaving A.R.G.U.S. to provide clean-up, and they were denied access to any Apokoliptian tech, _again_.

"I'm pretty sure we all know the main point to be discussed at this meeting," stated Maxwell Lord, "The Justice League."

Amanda Waller did a quick run through of all the people sitting before her.

Maxwell Lord, young businessman who used to work with an incarnation of the Justice League, but later betrayed them and killed the original Blue Beetle, which he had kept under wraps. The public still views him as the beloved CEO of his company, Checkmate. Not even Amanda Waller knows about his mind control abilities.

General Wade Eiling, A.R.G.U.S.'s liaison to the United States military. He absolutely despised the Justice League, metahumans in general, even more than Waller.

Hugo Strange, former therapist at Arkham Asylum. He'd come into conflict with Batman a few times in the past, and he wasn't exactly the most mentally stable, but he still had a brilliant mind and was able to provide a good insight into the way A.R.G.U.S.'s enemies think.

Emil Hamilton, A.R.G.U.S.'s head scientist who used to be partners with Superman. But after Hamilton clones Superman's cousin, Kara, their whole friendship pretty much went up in flames. Everything Hamilton does is to protect the world from the metahuman menace.

Isabel Rochev, perhaps the most ambitious of them all. She overthrew Oliver Queen from Queen, Inc. for a fair amount of time and later went on to manage her own business for some time before _she_ approached A.R.G.U.S. about becoming one of their directors.

"What is there to talk about, Lord? They're not doing any good to us." Complained Waller.

"Exactly. We have to talk about a way to keep them in check." He responded.

"I don't know if keeping them in check is the right option." Said Rochev.

"Or if it's even possible." Offered Hamilton.

"Wait, I liked what you said, Rochev. What did you mean?" asked Eiling.

"Well we clearly don't have enough manpower to go up against the Justice League, our last few attempts have ended horribly." No one had to mentioned Doomsday or the Ultimen.

"I'm not sure they're even the problem. The problem is that they don't answer to us. But what if we had a team the answered to us? Not a team like anything we've had before, but something we have complete control over, something that only we know about."

"Rochev, you practically read my mind." Said Eiling. "I came to this meeting today with an idea in mind, and she's opened up for it perfectly. We need a team that can go on the dirty missions, a team that is willing to do things the League just won't do. So I propose we bring back an old program from World War 2, called the Suicide Squad."

Everyone was captivated.

"Go on." Urged Strange.

"The Suicide Squad was a group sanctioned by the United States government, it took soldiers who were physically or mentally unequipped to fight in combat anymore, and it send them on suicide missions, which they were completely aware of, mind you."

"Hold on," began Lord, "If you're suggesting we take American soldiers from their homes and send them to their deaths-"

"No that's the beauty of it, I'm not suggesting that at all." Eiling still had everyone's attention. "We currently have, at both Belle Reve and Arkham, a total of 789 inmates. What I'm suggesting, is that we take a handful, nothing more than a _handful_ , of these prisoners, and enlist them on the Suicide Squad. We offer them a chance to comply, and each mission will shed time off their life sentences and eventually lead to a full pardon."

Everyone had shock written all over their faces.

"It's genius." Said Waller.

"Agreed." Said Rochev.

"How would we control these criminals?" asked a hesitant Hamilton. Eiling seemed stumped, they could all tell he hadn't thought of that. Thankfully, Waller answered for him. "We could implant micro-bombs into their spinal cords, and if they disobey an order… boom."

"Then I'm in." said Hamilton.

"As am I." said Strange.

Everyone looked at Maxwell Lord, who still seemed hesitant. "I'll agree to it, on one condition. We get a straight man, a hero, to lead this team. Someone who won't disobey orders, not because of a bomb in his spine, but because he respects them. Someone we can actually trust."

"I think that's actually a really good idea. But who?" said Rochev.

"Captain Atom!" responded an extremely enthusiastic General Eiling.

"He's too close with the Justice League. Besides, he'd never trust us… not anymore." Reasoned Strange, which led to Eiling slumping back down in his chair.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be a hero. We have a lot of talent here at A.R.G.U.S. as it is, perhaps Steve Trevor." Said Hamilton.

"No, he'd go running straight to Wonder Woman." Said Lord.

"I know who." Said Waller. Everyone looked at her expectantly. "Rick Flag. He's one of our best agents, I know he'd comply."

"Of course! I served in the army with Flag's father, if he's anything like his old man, he'll love this." said Eiling.

Everyone else seemed to agree on Flag being assigned as the Suicide Squad's leader.

"It's settled then. Rick Flag will be the leader of the Suicide Squad. General Eiling, if you'd like to inform him on his promotion, we can get started on the selection process at tomorrow's meeting."

 _The next day…_

"Flag was very eager for this opportunity, I think he'll make a great leader." Said Eiling.

"Wonderful. Let's get started." Said Waller as she took a seat.

"Alright, I've taken the liberty of narrowing down the list of prisoners from Belle Reve and Arkham to 63 prisoners and put them in alphabetical order by first name. We can go down the list and vote yay or nay on members." Explain Hamilton.

"Sounds good. But I think every member should be voted in completely unanimously, but if you don't want someone on the team, you need a valid reason as to why not." Said Lord.

"Sounds reasonable enough." Said Rochev, winking at him, which caused him to smirk.

"Alright then. Hamilton, let's get things going." Said Eiling.

"Right, well going alphabetically first on the list is Anthony "Tony" Woodward, alias Girder. He is capable of coating his skin in unbreakable steel." Said Hamilton.

"He's also extremely stupid and violent. He won't follow orders, and he'll be stupid enough to think if he's covered in steel the bomb won't hurt him. All he'd be is a danger to his teammates. I vote no." said Rochev. No one bothered arguing with her.

"Next on the list, real name unknown but is rumored to be Antonio Carlton, alias Bane. Injects himself with a drug called Venom, which makes him super strong." Said Hamilton.

"He's too smart. He'll either discover a way to defuse the bombs or find a way to lead a revolution. I vote no." said Rochev, turning down another member.

"Now hold on, he may be very smart, but he was able to take down Batman for God's sake. A man like that could be extremely useful. If we don't use him on the team, we can at least put him on the reserve if nothing else." Offered Eiling.

"An interesting proposal, a roster only for villains that are too radical for a main roster, sort of a 'break glass in case of emergency' protocol… I like it." Said Lord. And with that, the "Reserve Roster" was set into motion, and Bane was added to it.

"Next is Axel Walker, alias the Trickster."

"He's way to insane and unpredictable." Said Waller.

"Barbara Ann Minerva, alias the Cheetah."

"Wonder Woman would notice if the Cheetah goes missing for too long, and the last thing we need is Wonder Woman finding out about the Suicide Squad." Reasoned Rochev.

"Barton Mathis, alias the Dollmaker." Everyone agreed he was too "creepy and sadistic".

"Basil Karlo, alias Clayface."

"He could be a valuable asset, but there's no way we'd be able to implant a bomb into him since he has no solid shape, without heavily reducing his abilities. It seems like something we'll just have to accept." Said Lord.

"Benjamin "Ben" Turner, alias Bronze Tiger. He offers no unique talent, and he has the need for revenge so he could potentially pose a danger to the team in certain situations. I vote no." said Hamilton.

"Bette Sans Souci, alias Plastique." Said Hamilton.

"I vote yes! I was Souci's commanding officer, and she knows how to follow an order, especially if there's a bomb in her head. Plus, her powers alone could be an extremely valuable asset and she has a lot of knowledge about defusing bombs as well, if they're ever in a situation like that." Said General Eiling.

And with that, Plastique was voted in as the Suicide Squad's first official member.

"Brian Durlin, alias Savant." Said Hamilton.

"He's too unpredictable. He's sadistic and isn't a team player." Said Lord.

"Caitlin Snow, alias Killer Frost."

"I vote yes. Snow used to be a very gifted scientist, and add that to her cryokinetic abilities, she could be very useful to the Squad." Said Waller, and no one disagreed. Killer Frost was voted in.

"Next up is Cameron Van Cleer, alias Killer Moth." For a brief moment, everyone was silent. Then, Maxwell Lord spoke "Oh come, he's Killer Moth! That should be reason enough to not include him, he's ridiculous!" He was barely able to get it all out in between laughs. Killer Moth was denied membership.

"Carl Sands, alias Shadow Thief. I have to vote no, he's mischievous and we don't know if the bomb would be able to maintain itself when he is in shadow form." Said Hamilton, which led to Shadow Thief being rejected.

"Chato Santana, alias El Diablo." Said Hamilton.

"That's a tough one. He has fire powers, which could be useful, but we already have Plastique who can create explosions. Plus, he was taken down by the Teen Titans in ten minutes flat, I'm not sure if we need someone who can be defeated so easily." Reasoned Lord.

"Still, he might prove useful in the future. I vote we place him on the reserve roster." Said Waller. And so that's where he was placed.

"Real name unknown, rumored to be Claudia Davis, alias Silver Banshee."

"She can't control where she directs her powers, she could potentially deafen her teammates, which we definitely don't want." Said Waller.

"Cyrus Gold, alias Solomon Grundy."

"Grundy's a zombie who barely even knows what an order is. Plus, if we attempt to blow him up he'll regenerate eventually. I vote no." said Eiling.

"David Cain."

"Yes!" shouted Eiling. However, Rochev said "He escaped from Belle Reve three days ago. His whereabouts are unknown at the moment."

"Dammit! I had high hopes for him! Well, we should put him on the reserve roster, for when we find him!" yelled Eiling, clearly upset about Cain's disappearance. Since no one was willing to argue with him, David Cain was placed on the reserve roster.

"David Clinton, alias Chronos."

"I _would_ vote yes on him, since time travel could come in extremely handy, but seeing as how all of his technology was confiscated by the Justice League, he's useless." Said Rochev.

"Real name unknown, rumored to be David Everhart, alias Black Manta."

"I see no reason why not. He's got useful skills and he may be reckless but he's not one to purposefully get his head blown up." Said Eiling.

"Plus, I doubt Aquaman would take notice of his absence. Even if he did, he'd take it as a blessing. Aquaman's not really the most likely to catch on to what we're doing." Said Lord. So Black Manta was voted in.

"Real name unknown, rumored to be Daniel Jacobi, alias the Key."

"He's too insane and unpredictable." Said Rochev.

"Danton Black, alias Multiplex."

"He _was_ a scientist, and who knows if we'll ever need someone who can create an army at will. I vote yes." Said Lord, so Multiplex was voted in.

"Edward Nygma, alias the Riddler."

"I vote no." spoke up Hugo Strange, for the first time the whole meeting. "For one, it will not be wise to recruit more than a few from Batman's rogues gallery, and for two, the Riddler truly offers nothing special, except for the fact that he could be smart enough to defuse the bombs." So Riddler was rejected.

"Eobard Thawne, alias Professor Zoom, alias Reverse-Flash. I have to vote no, he's from the future, who knows how unpredictable he could be, he's also very dangerous, perhaps too dangerous to control."

"Damn! I really hate Thawne, and I want to see him in agony. I vote we at least put him on the reserve roster." Somewhat reluctantly, Hamilton agreed, and so Thawne was put on the reverse roster.

"Eric Needham, alias Black Spider." He was voted in unanimously.

"Felix Faust." He was rejected because his magic abilities could be too much of a threat.

"Floyd Lawton, alias Deadshot." He was also voted in unanimously.

"Francine Kane, alias Magenta." Maxwell Lord was the first one to speak up. "No, she controls metal, which is exactly what bombs are made of. Even if she doesn't defuse them, she could easily blow up her teammates."

"Garfield Lynns, alias Firefly." No one could think of a reason not to include him, although Rochev argued that he was too obsessed with fire, but in the end she lost that argument, so Firefly was voted in.

"George Harkness, alias Captain Boomerang." He was unanimously voted in.

"Grodd." "No." said Eiling, extremely quickly. "For one, Grodd is much too intelligent, plus he would never cooperate, even if he did he could control his teammates' minds," no one noticed Lord shift uncomfortably, "and I'm not even sure if a bomb could destroy his thick hide." Eiling made such a strong argument that no one argued, and Grodd was rejected.

"Harleen Quinzel, alias Harley Quinn." After he spoke her name, everyone was silent, because none of them knew anything to say. Eventually, Waller spoke up. "Well, she does have a brilliant mind, although it may sometimes be shrouded by her insanity, it could still be useful. So could her acrobatic and fighting abilities. She may be a bit of a wildcard, but I don't doubt we could control her." Waller was very hesitant in making her case, and no one could think of a reason to argue with her, except Strange. "She's not mentally equipped to be around a large group of people and have none of them be the Joker. Although, I suppose we could add her to the reserve roster." So there she was placed.

"Hartley Rathaway, alias Pied Piper." Rochev said "It's the same problem with Silver Banshee. No."

"Harvey Dent, alias Two-Face." Waller said "He doesn't have any special skills to offer us. He's practically useless."

"Real name unknown, rumored to be Jack Napier, alias the Jo-" he was interrupted by everyone else simultaneously shouting "No!"

"Jaina Hudson, alias White Rabbit." Eiling said "Again, she has no particular skills to offer us."

"Jonathan Corben, alias Metallo. I have to vote no, Corben is powered by Kryptonite, which, thanks to Lex Luthor, has become a very limited resource, and he's not very useful in fights that aren't against Superman."

"Jonathan Crane, alias Scarecrow." Hugo Strange said "He is much too insane to be put into the field. However, he does have a superior intellect and could provide use on missions should he be absolutely necessary, so I vote we place him on the reserve roster."

"Real name unknown, rumored to be Jonathan Price, alias Copperhead." He was voted in.

"Joseph Martin, alias Atomic Skull." He was rejected for being too powerful and presenting a threat to the team.

"Joshua Michael Allen, alias Parasite." There was a lot of debate over him, and the Board was split directly in half. Rochev, Strange, and Hamilton did not want to use him, but Waller, Eiling, and Lord all thought he could prove extremely useful, so of course, he was placed on the reserve roster.

For a while, no one was voted in. Kirk Langstrom / Man-Bat was rejected for being mindless and uncontrollable. Leonard Snart / Captain Cold was rejected for being too close with Captain Boomerang and there was the possibility of them scheming against A.R.G.U.S. Leslie Willis / Livewire was rejected for being able to short-circuit the bombs. Lester Buchinsky / Electrocutioner was rejected for being too stupid and non-stealthy. Lyle Bolton / Lock-Up was rejected for being too sadistic and having a bad history with a good amount of the current team. Malcolm Merlyn / Dark Archer was rejected for having too many ties to the League of Assassins and not being a team player. Mark Mardon / Weather Wizard was rejected for being too powerful. Mark Scheffer / Shrapnel was rejected for having a history of betraying his partners. Michael Amar / Murmur was rejected for being too insane. Mick Rory / Heatwave was rejected for being too similar to Firefly, too obsessed with fire, and for the same reasons as Captain Cold. Finally, things changed.

"Nanaue, alias King Shark." For a little bit, there was the argument about the bombs not being able to penetrate his thick hide, but that was put to rest as it seemed like an easy enough problem to solve, so he was voted in.

"Orm Marius, alias Ocean Master."

"He's got diplomatic immunity or some shit, right? Besides, we've already got King Shark they're basically the same guy. Just put Orm on the reserve roster in case Shark or Manta croak on a mission." So he was.

"Oswald Cobblepot, alias the Penguin." Hugo Strange said "The problem is, he's not technically a criminal anymore. He's been given a full pardon by the Gotham City Police Department and is a seemingly legitimate businessman, yet he still operates as a criminal. We have no solid evidence against him… at least none that would be considered legitimate. We could, however, force him to assist the Squad whenever we need him, which will technically put him on the reserve roster."

"Pamela Isley, alias Poison Ivy." She was voted in.

"Patrick O'Brian, alias Plastic Man." Lord said "Hold on, isn't he a hero now?"

"Technically, yes, but he does have a criminal record and could be a valuable asset." Said Hamilton.

"A criminal record doesn't mean we have anything against him. There's no legitimate reason to abduct him, and even if we did Batman would notice." Said Waller.

"Peter Merkel, alias Ragdoll." He was voted in.

"Selina Kyle, alias Catwoman." Waller said "It's the same thing as Cheetah. Batman would notice if she was missing, and I'm not sure which would be worse, having Batman or Wonder Woman on our asses. No."

"Slade Wilson, alias Deathstroke." Everyone was silent for a moment. "Isn't he essentially the same as Deadshot?" asked Lord.

"No, they're very different. I can see Deathstroke being a very valuable member of the Suicide Squad." Said Waller.

"But he also only looks after himself. He could present a danger to the team."

"I think it's a risk worth taking. I vote yes on Deathstroke." Said Rochev. Eventually, he was voted in.

Thaddeus Sivana was rejected for being too insane and having nothing special to offer. Thomas Blake / Catman was rejected for having nothing unique to offer and he is good friends with Deadshot, so they might conspire against A.R.G.U.S. Victor Fries / Mister Freeze was rejected for being like Killer Frost, except "heavier", which would make him more of a liability.

"Waylon Jones, alias Killer Croc." Eiling said "It's the same case with Ocean Master, he's too similar to King Shark and Black Manta. We can't have three of practically the same person on the team."

Strange rebutted "Killer Croc is very unique in his own way, I suggest we at least place him on the reserve roster." Reluctantly, Eiling agreed and Croc was placed among the several others on the reserve roster.

Werner Zytle / Count Vertigo was rejected because of diplomatic immunity and the fact that he'd present a danger to his teammates. Lastly, William Tockman / Clock King was rejected for being too smart.

"Well, that's that." Said Lord.

"Our final roster is Plastique, Killer Frost, Black Manta, Multiplex, Deadshot, Firefly, Captain Boomerang, Copperhead, King Shark, Poison Ivy, Ragdoll, and Deathstroke, with Bane, El Diablo, David Cain, Professor Zoom, Harley Quinn, Parasite, Ocean Master, Penguin, Scarecrow, and Killer Croc on the reserve roster."

"Well, that is one hell of a team! They'll definitely prove very useful!" said Eiling.

"Indeed. I will have Colonel Flag accompany me to Belle Reve and Arkham Asylum to assemble our recruits and brief them on their new situation. You're all dismissed." Said Waller.


	2. The Ride to ARGUS

On the way to Belle Reve Penitentiary, Waller and Flag stopped at Arkham Asylum to pick up Poison Ivy and Ragdoll. Deadshot, Deathstroke, and Firefly had all clashed with Batman before, but they were all legally sane so they were held at Belle Reve.

Ivy and Ragdoll were both in cuffs, Ragdoll's were electrified because of his ability to slip out of them. They were walking in between Waller and Flag and two A.R.G.U.S. agents, who were behind them. They were stopped at the gate, but all Waller had to do was glare at the guard to be let in. Flag chuckled as they walked forward.

"Something funny, Colonel?" she asked, not venomously as one would expect.

"Nothing, ma'am. I'm just honored to be a part of this."

 _Part of what?_ Wondered Ivy.

"Well, it won't be a walk in the park, but I have no doubt you can handle it." She said, complimenting him. When they reached the warden, Waller had Flag and the two guards take Ivy and Ragdoll to an undisclosed room.

"I'm here under A.R.G.U.S. authority, and I need the following prisoners transported to the location my compatriots are headed right now." she handed him a list. He skimmed over it.

 _Black, Danton_

 _Everhart, David_

 _Harkness, George_

 _Lawton, Floyd_

 _Lynns, Garfield_

 _Nanaue_

 _Needham, Eric_

 _Sans Souci, Bette_

 _Snow, Caitlin_

 _Wilson, Slade_

He squinted at Waller suspiciously. "May I ask what you need these prisoners for?"

"No." she responded, and began walking away. He sighed and called a few guards over, telling them to retrieve these prisoners.

The ten of them were all guided separately through the prison to a vacant room with two rows, six seats in each. Poison Ivy and Ragdoll were already sitting in the first row, so Deadshot, Firefly, Black Manta, and Killer Frost were sat next to them. King Shark, Black Spider, Deathstroke, Boomerang, Multiplex, and Plastique were all lined up in the back. Waller stood at the front of the room, with Flag to her side and slightly behind her. Waller took a step forward.

"Some of you know me. For those of you who don't, my name is Amanda Waller. I am a member of the Board of Directors of A.R.G.U.S. I've gathered you all here today with a proposal. My associates and I have recently reactivated a program from World War 2 called the Suicide Squad."

This got a few eyebrows raised.

"If you all agree to join the Suicide Squad you will have bombs implanted into your spinal cords to keep you in line on the missions you will be sent on. As the name suggests, these missions will be dangerous, most likely not all of you will survive. But those of you who do will have time shredded off your life sentence until you're given a full pardon."

They were all speechless. She looked over at Flag and nodded. He stepped forward and said "My name is Rick Flag. I will be accompanying you on your missions and leading this team, whose _proper_ name is Task Force X, but Suicide Squad seems to be catchier. Know that if any of you step even _slightly_ over the line… boom. Alright, being given this information, is there anyone who wants out?"

No one moved.

"Good. Ms. Waller." He said, motioning towards the door. The two of them walked out, and the villains started getting up cautiously, unsure of what to do. Once the two of them were out of the room, Waller spoke into a communicator on her wrist and said "We're clear. Gas 'em."

She then slammed the door, ignoring all of their screams. The room was sealed off and nerve gas was released into the room, knocking all of them completely unconscious. They were then all boarded into a large truck out back, much to the warden's dismay. He didn't know why they were being taken and he didn't like it, but there was nothing he could do.

The back of the truck was very long and was equipped with power dampeners. None of them could do anything, but for good measure they were each hand cuffed and strapped to the wall. They were lined up on one side from the end of the truck down in the order of Ragdoll, Firefly, Deadshot, Black Manta, Plastique, and Black Spider. The other side, from the end down, was Captain Boomerang, Killer Frost, Deathstroke, Poison Ivy, Multiplex, and King Shark. One by one they started to wake up, they were all dazed, but none of them had any courage to say anything. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Captain Boomerang spoke up.

"So, why do you lot s'pose they chose us of all people?"

"Don't know, don't care. All I care about is getting out of prison." Responded Black Spider.

"Alright, what do you people with actual personalities think then?" Boomerang asked. He was only met with angry glares from most of the others.

"Well, we all have pretty unique talents and powers. We could all be pretty useful in any given situation." Said Multiplex, who seemed a little nervous to speak, as he'd never really communicated with any of them before.

"Oi, I don't think I know who you are, what's your name, kid?" asked Boomerang.

"My name's Danton Black, I go by Multiplex. I can clone myself." He responded nervously.

"No shit? That's pretty badass mate-"

"Would you shut the fuck up, Boomer? This is going to be awful enough with you people, can't I at least get some peace and quiet on the way there?" asked an annoyed Deadshot.

For a few seconds everyone was quiet, and then Deathstroke spoke. "You're quite the little ball of joy, aren't you Lawton?"

"Oh for God's sake, Wilson-" and the entire truck burst out into another argument. This all lasted for the entire three hour ride there, and Rick Flag, who was driving the truck, could only think that this team is screwed if they're all expected to work together.


	3. Craptastic Catastrophe at Cape Cod

Once they arrived at A.R.G.U.S. headquarters they were slowly unloaded out of the truck and guided into a cell block. On the way there Deadshot asked Flag why they didn't just fly, but Flag told him to shut up. Deadshot scoffed, he could already tell this would be fun. They entered a cell block with 30 cells, despite the fact that there were only 12 of them. A few of them wondered how many members they were planning on having, but some of them didn't care. They were met with Amanda Waller telling them "These will be your homes for the next few years as you serve alongside the Suicide Squad. I suggest you get comfortable."

As everyone started walking towards a cell, Rick Flag cleared his throat to make an announcement. "All of your gear has been transported from Belle Reve and will be kept under lock and key to be provided for you on missions only. As soon as we have a mission for you you'll be summoned. Now get in."

They all took the twelve cells farthest away from the entrance, six on each side. Soon enough they'd all gotten their cells accommodated, making them as homey as they possibly could. Deadshot had decorated his wall with photos of his daughter, Zoe. Poison Ivy had a few plants lined up on a table for her to care for. Deathstroke had a bar hanging in between the walls for him to work out. Black Manta had only two pictures held on his wall: one of his son, Kaldur'ahm, and the other of Aquaman, which was held up with a knife he had smuggled in. King Shark's cell had faucets installed to provide him with water to keep him from getting dehydrated. Everyone else had little things that represented their personality to truly make their cell their own. Every day they were given lunch in their cell and not allowed to communicate with each other, but a few of them knew Morse Code and did not obey that rule, particularly Deadshot and Black Manta, who had met before and actually got along.

After about a week and a half Waller, Eiling, and Flag walked into the cell block. Eiling pressed a button that opened up the cells of Deadshot, Black Manta, Plastique, Deathstroke, and King Shark. The five of them cautiously stepped out as everyone else pressed their faces against their doors, curious as to what was happening. When the five of them saw Waller and the others they turned their attention to them and Deadshot asked "What about everyone else?"

Flag answered "Only a small portion of the Squad will be used on each mission. The only way we'd need all twelve of you at once is if the situation is apocalyptic, and I doubt that will be happening any time soon."

"In this world, you never know." Commented Deadshot.

"What's the situation?" asked Deathstroke, getting right to the point.

Eiling stepped forward and pulled out a portable holopad which projected up a map of Cape Cod. "Unbeknownst to the general public the United States government has a top secret missile base on the shoreline of Cape Cod. It's been overtaken by a group of terrorists, led by a man dressed as Doctor Polaris."

"Who the hell is Doctor Polaris?" asked Plastique.

"Neal Emerson, old Green Lantern bad guy, he controls metal. But Emerson's been dead for some time now, so we can only assume this is a new player on the field. Your mission is to infiltrate the base, take Polaris dead or alive, and prevent him from firing any missiles."

"Well this sounds fun. We're getting straight into the big stuff, I like it." Said Deadshot.

"Let's get moving, Squad." Said Rick Flag, walking through them, and they all followed after him. They quickly got loaded in to a small jet and the five criminals were forcibly strapped in after being given all of their gear, and Flag flew them to Cape Cod. Once they were five minutes out, Flag turned to them and said "Alright, here's the plan. Manta, Shark, I want both of you dropping into the water outside the base and getting in as quickly as possible to disable the internal security systems and take out any additional defenses. Once we have a clear path in, I want Deathstroke and Plastique going after Polaris's men, while I'll secure the missiles. Deadshot, we need you to get to a vantage point, find Polaris, and if you have a clean shot against him, take it. If not, then we'll have to kill him. But only as a last resort. Everything clear? Good. Manta, Shark, you're up."

They were unstrapped and both stood up in the center of the ship. The floor opened up beneath them and they immediately fell into the water below, as everyone watched through the hole. They both collided with the water, and sank under. They swam towards the base and quickly found the underwater access point. They didn't waste time trying to hack in and Shark ripped it out. They got inside and were instantly met with two guards aiming their guns at them. However, Manta activated his helmet's heat vision and singed both of their top halves. He and Shark then continued forward, eventually getting to the main control console up above, and Manta was able to drop the defenses. Less than five seconds later, a wall exploded, to reveal Plastique standing on the other side of it. She, Deathstroke, and Flag quickly ran in as the alarms were going off all around. this caught Polaris's attention, and he flew down, lifting up Deathstroke via all the metal on his armor.

"Who the hell are you? What are you doing here?" demanded Polaris.

"Sorry, but this wasn't in my contract." He then, quicker than Polaris could have responded to, pulled out a knife and lodged it into his shoulder, causing him to drop Deathstroke. King Shark barely caught him, but Polaris then flew upwards and began to lift up the missiles, although it was clearly a struggle. As Flag was busy beating up a guard, he saw the missiles shaking and shouted "No! Manta, Plastique, distract him!"

Manta then blasted his heat vision at him, but he had some sort of force field around him. Plastique then grabbed a piece of debris and charged it, throwing it at Polaris. He saw it and stopped it right in front of his face as he made eye contact with Plastique. At that very second, Deadshot was lining up his shot. He was just about to take it, but Plastique smirked and the metal debris in front of Polaris exploded, knocking him to the ground right as Deadshot fired.

"Shit!"

When Polaris hit the ground, the missiles stopped shaking. Plastique then walked up to Polaris and put her hand on his shoulder, charging him up.

"You made a big mistake thinking you could pull this off." She said, mocking him. He then chuckled.

"If you think this was really my plan, then you made the big mistake."

"What?" but their conversation was cut short as Polaris exploded, knocking Plastique back. Over all the shouting, she was barely able to see that one of the missiles was launched and went directly upward. Manta asked Flag "Do you know where it's headed?"

He looked at the trajectory on the screen and said "It's coming back for us. When it hits it'll set off the other missiles, killing everyone in Cape Cod."

"Well what the hell can we do?"

"There's nothing." Said Flag, hopelessly.

Over the intercom, Deadshot said "Don't be so melodramatic. I've got this." They all looked up to where he was perching, but it was now vacant. Their jet then blasted over the wall, and was headed for the missile.

"Deadshot, what the hell are you doing? You're going to get yourself killed!" shouted Flag.

"Hey, it's in the name, Flag. Suicide Squad, remember?" responded Deadshot.

"Give it a rest, Flag. Lawton craves death. Just let him do it." Said Deathstroke, with an extremely condescending tone.

This got Deadshot smirking. "You think you know me so well, don't you Wilson? Well, I got news for you." He said, as he unstrapped himself and hit the button opening the hole in the floor. Just before the jet collided with the missile, Deadshot fell out the hole and went freefalling. Deathstroke chuckled.

When the explosion occurred, Deadshot was knocked down much quicker than he was previously falling.

"Deadshot? Did you even put on one of the parachutes?" asked Flag.

He didn't respond, since he was clearly knocked unconscious by the explosion. He started getting closer, and there weren't really any good places for him to land.

"That idiot! He's gonna splatter all over the ground!" shouted Flag.

"Move." Said Shark, shuffling pasted him. He then jumped onto the wall and ricocheted himself off, going shooting for Deadshot.

"Oh you're fucking kidding me." Said Flag, in complete awe of what he was watching as Shark caught Deadshot and landed on the side wall, sliding back down into the base. They all converged on Shark and stared at Deadshot, who looked unconscious.

He then coughed, looked at Deathstroke, and said "You don't." before passing out again. Deathstroke chuckled once more and said "Come on, kid." Picking up Deadshot from Shark's arms and carrying him to the door.

Flag looked at the others and said "If this is what it's going to be like every time…"

"Then we've got a lot set out for us. How the hell are we getting back?" asked Manta.

"I've got it covered. Waller," said Flag, pressing his ear piece, "Our ship exploded. We need evac."

Soon enough, a ship arrived for them and they were brought back to base as Flag commended them for a successful first mission."

Later, Waller and Eiling were talking in the meeting room.

"That was a good test run." Said Eiling.

"Indeed it was."

"Do you think we should have told Flag that the mission was a fake?" asked Eiling.

"No. He may be a good soldier, but he doesn't need to know everything. This was just a test, and he was a valuable part of it, he needed to believe that it was a real threat. Besides, the likelihood of him noticing how different future missions will be is very slim. Besides, if Flag knew that would run the risk of him notifying the others. We need to keep this between us."

Eiling nodded as he took another sip, saying "Well I'll drink to that."

Elsewhere, Maxwell Lord was in his office, attaching jumper cables to his body and activating them, which shocked him violently, causing him to fall back into the pool of ice behind him. After about a minute of lying in there, he got out and walked over to the cage with a squirrel inside of it. He blinked his eyes and when he opened them, the squirrel did the same thing and became idle. Lord then had the squirrel walked over to his cage door and reach outside, opening it, before slamming the cage door on his neck, decapitating himself.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Rochev, who had been standing in the door the whole time.

Lord panicked for a split second before closing his eyes and opening them once more, Rochev doing the same.

"You didn't see this." he said.

She repeated his words. "I didn't see this."

He then released her from his control and walked over to her. "Another late night visit, Ms. Rochev?"

She grinned and closed his door. "What's with the ice?"

"It's a physical therapy thing, nothing important." He said, cutting her off before she could speak by kissing her, immediately getting down to the business they do every time they meet in his office.

Sitting in his office was Hugo Strange watching monitors conveying everything. He saw Waller and Eiling conspiring secretly, he saw Lord's mind control abilities, and he saw Lord and Rochev together. But no one had any idea that Strange was the puppet master behind everyone else believing that they were.


	4. Psimon Psays

Waller and Flag entered the cell block and opened the designated cells. Deadshot, Deathstroke, Poison Ivy, Ragdoll, Firefly, Captain Boomerang, Multiplex, and Plastique all stepped out.

"Big crew. What is it this time?" asked Deadshot. He, Deathstroke, and Plastique were the only ones so far to get two consecutive missions.

Waller stepped forward and said "I assume you're all familiar with the terrorist organization called Kobra located in Bialya?"

Deadshot chuckled. "Familiar? Waller, I've killed for them before."

"Well now it's time for you to kill _them_. We got word from an agent inside that the leader, King Kobra, has recently gotten ahold of a deadly toxin spread throughout the air and he's planning an attack on Metropolis. Once he sent his message, he was killed. It's time we ended the threat of Kobra once and for all, so I want you to infiltrate their headquarters in Bialya, take no prisoners, and retrieve the bio-weapon without activating it. This is a very important operation, so it will require a lot of you to complete the objective. Alright, move out."

As the villains began heading towards the weapons lock-up, Rick Flag stepped in front of Waller. "Ms. Waller this mission seems like quite a large step from the last one, this could take days. And-"

"It won't be a problem, Colonel. The Squad can handle it, now I suggest you get moving. We _are_ on a time table."

There was a second of silence. "Understood ma'am."

As the Squad was flying to Bialya, Captain Boomerang spoke up. "Multiplex you said your name was right?"

Multiplex nodded.

"Well, seems to me like we're gonna be needin' an army against these Kobra guys. Guess that's why you're taggin' along."

"I guess so. Luckily, if I'm holding a gun when I clone myself, my duplicates get a gun as well, so I make for a pretty effective army."

Boomerang laughed. "That is badass mate! I gotta say, I love me my boomerangs, but if I could have any power, I'd go with that. How can you guys not think this kid is badass?"

"Hey I'm not denying anything, it is pretty sick." Agreed Firefly. Multiplex couldn't help but smirk, he wasn't used to getting all this attention.

Deadshot looked at Deathstroke, who was staring at Boomerang like he was an idiot. He then looked at Deadshot and they made eye contact. Deathstroke smirked, causing Deadshot to glare at him. Deathstroke winked and turned his attention elsewhere.

"How many plants do you s'pose there are in Bialya, love?" asked Boomerang to Poison Ivy.

"Not very many. It's a sad sight." She responded, thinking that Boomerang was actually genuinely curious about plants, but he just hated silence.

After a few more minutes of conversation they landed and Flag said "We're here. Kobra base is 12 klicks east, but we can't risk getting any closer than this in a jet. We've got to move quickly."

The sun was blazing hot, but night was coming soon. That didn't make it any better. They were all sweating bucketfulls. After what seemed like ages, they reached a ridge that they perched on, gazing at the Kobra base.

"Deadshot," began Flag, "You said you've killed for them before, right?"

"Yeah, once. They hired me to kill the Bialyan president, it was a headshot. In front of his kids. I'm not proud of that part."

"Anyways, were you able to pick up on any of their methods or anything that might help us?"

"No. Working for Kobra was one of the most secretive experiences I've been through, it was a target and money, nothing else."

"Okay… Firefly, we need you to provide air support, take out the guns perched on the vantage points, the rest of us can charge in, weapons blazing. Ready, go."

The second he said that, Firefly burst into action, with flames bursting violently from his guns. They all started running as quickly as they could, but all of them, except Firefly, seemed to be knocked back, not physically, but mentally. Then, everything went hazy until they each blacked out.

…

 _30 Hours Later…_

Poison Ivy started waking up; she was resting on top of someone. Her hand was gently placed on this unfamiliar woman's breast, and as she blinked the sand out of her eyes she groaned. This woke up the other woman, Plastique, who freaked out and threw Poison Ivy off of her.

"Ah!"

"What the hell!" shouted Ivy.

"Who are you?" shouted Plastique.

"I'm Poison Ivy, who the hell are you?"

She hesitated. "My name's Plastique. Where are we?"

"I have no idea, I just woke up."

Elsewhere, Deadshot was wandering through the seemingly endless desert. He had ditched his helmet and chest gear to cool himself off, but he was still carrying his guns. Eventually, he once more found the Kobra base, but he had no idea what it was. He was quickly taken prisoner, but after shooting one of the Kobra agents in the head, he was knocked unconscious and dragged inside.

"Just tell me your bloody name!" shouted Boomerang, with his namesake weapon loaded.

"Black! My name is Danton Black!" shouted back Multiplex, who had his hands in the air.

"Alright, Danton, where the hell am I?"

"Do I really look like I know?"

They stood there in silence, each glaring at each other. Then, Multiplex shot a clone of himself forward, who immediately punched Boomerang in the face, causing him to drop his weapon. Two more clones sprouted from the first one and they began circling around him as he backed away. But one of the clones got shot in the head. Then another. The two remaining Multiplexes turned around to see Deathstroke, who had also shed a lot of his armor, aiming his gun at them. They both placed their hands in the air and the clone dissipated back into the original. Deathstroke stood up and slid down the hill he was previously standing on and walked towards the two of them.

"My name is Slade Wilson. You're Digger Harkness, I'm familiar with your work. But you, I've never heard of you before."

"I go by Multiplex."

"Interesting. If the two of you want to survive I suggest you come with me." He said, not waiting for their reactions before turning and walking away. Multiplex started following him but Boomerang shouted "I'm not goin' anywhere with that bloke!"

After no one acknowledged him, he sighed and ran after them.

"Get up!" shouted Rick Flag, aiming his gun at the unconscious Ragdoll. "I said get up!" he shouted, kicking Ragdoll in the ribs, which woke him up. He slid back and got up. He bent his upper half backwards and crawled under his own waist, before launching himself at Flag. Flag caught his throat and slammed him into the ground, aiming a gun at his face. A bead of sweat fell from Flag's face onto Ragdoll's. He then wrapped his legs around Flag's neck and threw him forward, before getting up to run away. Flag had to wipe the sand from his eyes to regain focus and once he had, Ragdoll had gotten away.

"Dammit… where the hell am I? And why is my communicator not working? And why was Ragdoll of all people here?" he asked helplessly, searching around but seeing nothing but endless desert.

Back at the Kobra base, Deadshot was dragged into a dungeon and thrown into a cell with the barely conscious Garfield Lynns, who was admiring a light on a match. The Kobra guards shouted at him in an unknown language, and he glared at them before extinguishing the match on his arm.

After colliding with the ground, Deadshot came to and vomited a little bit.

"Gross. It's about time one of you finally got here, but this isn't exactly the best rescue effort." Said Firefly.

"What the hell are you talking about? Who are you?" asked Deadshot.

"What are you on? It's me, Firefly, you're supposed to be here to rescue me and kill Kobra."

"Kobra? I… I used to work for Kobra…"

"Yeah, you said that already. Did you get hit in the head or something?"

Deadshot didn't respond. He was still in shock as to what was happening. "Look, last I remember, I was in a cell at Belle Reve, now I'm in the middle of buttfucking nowhere, being told by a guy that I've never talked to in my life that I'm supposed to be saving him and killing my former employer, not to mention that I am yet to be given a dollar amount."

"There is no dollar amount dumbass, it's a mission!" shouted Firefly. "God, did they wipe your memories?"

"Yes, we did." Replied a third party. Garfield and Floyd both looked at him to see a very pale man, whose brain was very visible at the top of his head.

"Gyah!" yelled a frightened Firefly.

"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Psimon. And I couldn't have you and your little squadron invading my home away from home, so I erased the last two months from all of your memories. Except you, my dear little Firefly, because you were flying very high, but you weren't too hard to capture. It shouldn't be long until we find your other compatriots either. Kobra will love to see all of you."

"I still can't get over the fact that your fuckin' brain is showing, man, get that shit checked out!" shouted Firefly.

Psimon glared at him and walked away.

"Okay, what was he talking about? What squadron?" asked Deadshot.

"Look, you, me, and ten other criminals got taken out of prison by a government agency called A.R.G.U.S. to go on suicide missions in exchange for shorter prison sentences. A few of us were sent here to kill Kobra and retrieve a bio-weapon that he was gonna use on Metropolis. But at this point, looks like we're fucked."

"Sounds groovy. Alright, Firefly, let's find a way out of here, kill Kobra, and find our teammates." Said Deadshot, already acting like a leader.

"Now we're talking." Said Firefly, grinning.


	5. Remember, Remember

"Hey!" shouted Deadshot, faking agony. "HEY!"

Eventually, he got the guard's attention. He walked over and said "Shut up!" but less than a second later Deadshot grabbed his shirt and slammed him into the bars multiple times before grabbing his throat and pulling him closer, grabbing his gun and holding it to his head.

"Everyone else back the fuck up!" he shouted at the other Kobra guards walking closer. Everyone stood still. He then turned his attention to the guard who he was holding hostage. "Open the cage. Now."

The guard did as he was told and the second it propped open, Deadshot shot him in the head and proceeded to kill the other five Kobras in the area in the blink of an eye. He grabbed one of their guns and threw it over to Firefly. "I know guns aren't your main thing, but it's all you've got right now until we get your gear back."

Firefly grinned and cocked the gun. "It'll do."

They then creeped through the halls, guns loaded, eyes and ears trained on everything that moved. They shot every Kobra in the head and were amazed that no alarm had been set yet. Then again, the base was fairly old and the cage probably didn't have motion sensors, and anyone who saw them got two in the forehead. Things were going fairly well for Deadshot and Firefly, despite the fact that they were yet to find Psimon, the bio-weapon, or King Kobara. Deadshot still didn't have his memories back either, and neither did any of the others still stranded in the desert.

"This is unbearable! We've been walkin' for hours mate, and we're no closer to findin' out why the hell we're in the bloody desert in the middle of God knows where!" complained Boomerang.

"Shut up." Said Deathstroke, holding up his hand, halting both Multiplex and Boomerang. "Look."

"Hey, that's that plant bitch from Gotham City! Poison Ivy!" said Boomerang.

"I said shut up." Said Deathstroke.

Poison Ivy and Plastique were both wandering aimlessly, neither of them wishing to speak to the other out of sheer awkwardness.

"Okay, if the three of us, of all people, and the two of them are here, it's all gotta be connected, right?" said Multiplex.

"Hate to admit it, but kid's got a point. We should go over to 'em." Said Boomerang.

Deathstroke was silent. He was thinking. "Follow my lead."

He pulled out his gun and started walking towards them, holding it out. "My compatriot here believes that there's a reason we're all stranded here in the desert, so if either of you have any information as to why I suggest you share it."

"Whoa! What the hell?!" shouted Plastique.

"Who are you?" shouted Ivy.

"Great plan there, Deathstroke." Said Boomer.

"Look, we have no idea why we're here!" said Plastique. "But if you keep aiming that gun at me, I will not hesitate to blow all of you into pieces!"

"Hey, I'd be okay with you blowin' me, if you catch my drift, darlin'." Said Boomerang, winking at her.

She then rushed at him, but Ivy, Deathstroke, and Multiplex all held her back.

Eventually, Deadshot and Firefly's luck ran out. They were surrounded by Kobras and were both down to their last bullet each. However, none of the Kobras attacked, they all just circled around them and eventually stopped, opening a path for none other than King Kobra to walk through.

"So, you two are the ones who have been dwindling my numbers. Well, I must say that-" he was interrupted by Deadshot shooting him through the forehead.

For a second everything was quiet, nothing but the sound of his body hitting the ground.

"Damn." Said Firefly. Then, the Kobras attacked. Firefly used his last bullet on one of them; he shot them right in the heart. They started piling over them, but Firefly saw one of the torches on the wall and formulated a plan. He climbed on top of one of them, kicking their head into the ground and began shuffling through them, narrowly avoiding various attacks.

"What the hell are you doing?!" shouted Deadshot, who snapped one of their necks and flipped, kicking another in the throat.

Eventually, Firefly jumped and kicked a Kobra in the chest, knocking him into the wall, where he grabbed onto the torch and ignored the burning sensation on his hand, he didn't mind it. He broke the torch off of the wall and stabbed a Kobra in the chest with the points on the end, simultaneously burning their chest. Eventually, he threw the torch onto the ground and the fire caught onto the wood floor. He then reached his arm into the fire, lighting it, and grabbed a Kobra's face with his flaming arm, burning their face off. As Deadshot snapped the last throat, he walked over to Firefly, and expressed his approval of using the torch as a weapon.

"Now come on, let's figure out where they stashed our stuff and find Psimon."

They eventually found their gear in King Kobra's throne room, where they used it to kill the four Kobras present. Just as they finished strapping it all back on, Psimon opened the door.

"Well, well, well, it looks like you esca-" like Kobra, he did not expect being interrupted by a bullet. However, this one went into his kneecap, causing him to fall to the ground. Firefly walked over and blasted fire onto his hand.

"Give my teammates their memories back."

"Gaahh! I can't! They're out of my range!" Firefly burned his other hand.

"Do I really look like I give a fuck about your range? Do it!"

Psimon then closed his eyes and focused all of his power, sending out a psychic wave. It had no effect on Firefly, but Deadshot doubled over screaming, grasping his head.

"Ah!"

After a couple of seconds, he stopped and began breathing heavily.

"Did it work?" asked Firefly.

"Yeah… yeah it worked. I remember." He said in between breaths.

"Good." Said Firefly, turning to Psimon and blasting fire onto his head, melting the glass case onto his brain.

Once Deathstroke, Plastique, Multiplex, Captain Boomerang, and Poison Ivy regained focus, Deathstroke took charge and said "We need to get to the Kobra base." He then ran off and everyone followed after him, trusting that he knew where it was.

"Hey, listen mate, about what I said when I couldn't remember nothin', forget it. I still think you're a badass." Said Boomerang to Multiplex.

"Don't sweat it, Boomer. If I were you, I'd just worry about Plastique." He replied.

Once they eventually reached the base, they found Flag just arriving. He turned to them and said "Where are Firefly, Deadshot, and Ragdoll?"

"They're probably all inside already, let's go." Said Deathstroke, shuffling passed him and going inside.

They were immediately met with the sight of dead Kobras everywhere.

"Deadshot's definitely already inside." Commented Flag.

Eventually, the six of them ran into Deadshot and Firefly, who were going in the opposite direction.

"Okay, but where the hell is Ragdoll?" asked Flag. Then, right at that moment there was an explosion. They all went running towards it and found Ragdoll, burned and barely conscious, with the bio-weapon activated and spreading through the air.

"Run. Grab Ragdoll and run!" shouted Flag. Deathstroke slung him over his shoulder and followed the others, who were already high-tailing it out of there. Once they got to the jet, they flew by the base and Flag sent out a mini-missile to destroy it and any traces of the bio-weapon. They got back to base as quickly as they could and were all immediately brought into the medical bay for treatment for exposure to the bio-weapon. As soon as they were all treated and resting, Waller burst in.

"What in God's name happened?! Flag!" she shouted.

He immediately stood up and said "Ms. Waller, we had our memories wiped and were left to fend for ourselves in the desert. Our coms were down, but Deadshot and Firefly made it into the base and completed the objective."

She was breathing heavily. She walked up to him and said "This was the Suicide Squad's second mission. I don't _ever_ want that happening again!"

Everyone was silent.

"Ragdoll is in critical condition. He'll remain in the medical bay until he's in good shape again, but he'll be sitting the next few missions out. Flag, you're dismissed, the rest of you, get back to your cells." Said Waller.

They all shuffled out and were returned to where they belonged.

"Well, if Flag didn't notice any differences between this mission and the first, I think our plan worked perfectly." Said Eiling, who was already drinking champagne as Waller walked into the meeting room.

"Perhaps. If Ragdoll doesn't make it we're going to have to delve into the reserve roster."

"Who are you kidding, Ragdoll's screwed. He was exposed to more radiation than any of them, and he was hit with a head-on explosion. No amount of flexibility is going to save him from that."

"Well, I hope you're wrong. He could have been so useful on future missions."

"We'll see."

Ragdoll woke up to see someone sitting at the foot of his bed.

"Hello, Mr. Merkel. My name is Emil Hamilton. I was the one who suggested your addition to the Suicide Squad, and I'd hate to see you croak after your first mission, on which you barely contributed, so I'm going to inject you with a formula I've been developing, no one else knows about it, so it'll be our little secret, but it'll make you big and strong again overnight." He said all of this as he was injecting it into Ragdoll's bloodstream, who immediately passed out again. "Don't let me down, Ragdoll. I'd hate to keep secrets from my colleagues for nothing."

Hugo Strange walked into Hamilton's deserted office and quickly grabbed two vials of the super serum that was just injected into Ragdoll. "Secrets can be very harmful Dr. Hamilton… I believe it's time you learned that."


	6. Locked Up

"On your feet, Ragdoll." Said Waller, waking up the previously unconscious Ragdoll. He did as he was told and got out of bed.

"Your vitals are completely back to normal, in fact, you're even healthier than you were before being exposed to the radiation." She explained.

He barely remembered anything Hamilton said to him. "Must be a miracle."

"Right. Miracle. Come with me, we've got another mission." She said, clearly skeptical of him.

Once they reached the cell block she opened the cells of Deadshot, Poison Ivy, Killer Frost, and Black Spider. Ragdoll went over to stand by them.

"Damn, three missions in a row. If you've got a crush on me, Waller, just step up and say it." Said Deadshot, clearly mocking her.

"Shut up, Lawton." Said Flag.

"This mission's going to be a tough one. I know Poison Ivy is familiar with our target." She said, pulling up a hologram of him. Her eyes widened and she screamed.

"Lyle Bolton, alias Lock-Up, used to work at Arkham Asylum, where he abused and tortured the inmates there. Bolton himself was rejected from the Suicide Squad Project, and it seems as though we made the right call. Because he has turned the Wayne Industries building into a 540-meter tall deathtrap. All of Wayne Industries' CEO's are inside the building and are being held hostage. Bolton is threatening to kill one every day his demands aren't met, so we're sending you in to kill him and free the CEO's."

"One question, how are we supposed to get inside?" asked Deadshot.

"You'll be breaking into the basement through the sewers. First you'll have to visit the Penguin to get the schematics. He's been briefed and he knows what you're there for. Move out."

Once on the jet, Killer Frost asked Poison Ivy "Are you gonna be okay on this mission? You seemed pretty freaked out by that guy."

"I'll be alright once I'm holding his cold, dead body in my hands." She responded.

"I can dig that." Responded Frost.

Eventually they arrived at the Iceberg Lounge and walked in. A lot of eyes turned to them, as they were quite a peculiar group of people to show up together. Flag walked up to the hostess and said "We're here to see Mr. Cobblepot. We have an appointment."

"Right this way." She said smiling, leading them throughout the club. They passed a few familiar faces, such as Two-Face and the Riddler, but none of them paid them any attention.

"Penguin." Said Flag as they walked into his office. He spun around in his chair quickly and nervously, so he almost fell out.

"Who the hell are you?!" he asked angrily when only Flag was present. About two seconds later the rest of the team walked in.

"Ivy? Oh… right. They got to you too huh?" he said, scratching the back of his neck where a bomb was implanted.

"Looks that way, Penguin. Do you have the schematics for the sewers?" she asked.

"I do… Waller tells me you're goin' after Lock-Up, is that right?" he asked as he handed her the schematics.

"Yeah, it is."

"Well, hit him a few times for me, would ya?"

"I'll do more than hit him." She said. Penguin simply nodded and returned to his chair.

"Thank you, Penguin. Let's move out, we need to get through the sewers quickly." Said Flag as they left. Once they got outside they immediately got into the sewers and walked through them as they viewed the schematics.

"You Arkham people really hate this Lock-Up guy, don't you?" asked Spider to Poison Ivy.

"You have no idea."

"I don't usually get curious about things, but I have to ask… what did he do to you?"

She waited a little bit to respond. She rubbed a specific spot on her vein that still held a permanent reminder of what Bolton had done. "Unspeakable things. Let me put it this way, ending his life will be more satisfying for me than having plants overtake humanity as the world's dominant species."

"And that… would be something you want?" he asked cautiously.

"Not as much anymore. Before the Suicide Squad I've come to accept that maybe humanity isn't a lost cause, I know a girl who I'd hate to see be killed by plants, I'm more worried about her being killed by her boyfriend… but anyways, we should just focus on the mission." She then hurried ahead of him and was shocked that she just opened up like that, especially to someone like _Black Spider_. He, meanwhile, just grinned. It was only his first mission, so he hadn't had any opportunities to enact his plan of gaining the trust of his teammates, but that was definitely a good start.

"Alright we're here. Deadshot, load the explosives." Commanded Flag.

Deadshot sighed. "Plastique would have been pretty helpful on this mission."

"Quit complaining. We're trying to keep collateral damage to the Wayne building minimal, but this is the only way in."

Boom.

"Ow!" shouted Ragdoll as a large piece of debris hit his head. Everyone else was just staring at him in awe. "What?"

"That was a giant ass piece of concrete and all you can say is 'ow'?" said Killer Frost. All Ragdoll was able to do was shrug.

"Whatever, let's get inside." Said Flag, jumping up, grabbing the ground inside and pulling himself up. The others followed suit and found themselves in the basement of Wayne Industries. Well, what used to be the basement. There were security lasers all across the room and the door to get out was coated in concrete.

"Everyone… stay… completely… still…" urged Flag.

Frost immediately disobeyed and shot a beam of ice at the concrete, covering most of the wall, which also disabled the console controlling the lasers. They faded away and Frost walked over to it and knocked on the ice, shattering the concrete wall.

"And you thought all we needed was Plastique."

Flag sighed. "Let's get moving. We've got a lot to do."

"So where exactly is Lock-Up?" asked Deadshot.

"Most likely, he's going to be with the CEO's and, of course, they always meet on the top floor." Responded Flag.

"Oh this is going to be unbearable."

Eventually they reached the elevator, but it was very suspicious.

"Well, what other options are there?" asked Deadshot.

Sighing, Ragdoll pressed the button and immediately the doors open, but there was no elevator. He looked inside and immediately jumped back out as a guillotine on a giant line slammed down into the ground.

"Follow my lead." Said Deadshot, jumping onto the rope. Reluctantly, Flag followed after him, but the guillotine shot back upward before anyone else could follow them.

"Shit!" shouted Deadshot as they violently shot upwards. Eventually, it stopped and they were launched onto a random floor. The guillotine fell back down, and Poison Ivy and Ragdoll jumped on to it. They were then thrown onto the same floor as Deadshot and Flag. It went down once more for Black Spider and Killer Frost, and once they were all on the same floor, the guillotine continued to fall and shoot back up. It must be automated.

They all stopped quickly when they realized what this floor was.

"My God this Lock-Up guy is insane…" said Deadshot.

"My question is, how the _hell_ did he have time to do all this shit and no one noticed?!" asked Killer Frost.

This floor didn't really have a _floor_ , it just went down endlessly and has two large axes swinging back and forth, slowly moving down. There was a small rope connecting one end to the other, where there was another elevator.

"Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me, this is like some shit out of a Bond movie!" complained Deadshot.

Flag sighed. "Look, once we find Lock-Up, you can complain about his architecture skills in person, but first we actually have to find him."

He then took a step forward and placed his foot on the rope and quickly but carefully started walking across the rope. Once he got to the other side he shouted over "Hurry up!"

They all shared looks and Deadshot motioned his hand towards the rope for anyone else to go. Sighing, Ragdoll began walking across, but the axes got further down and cut his shoulder. "Ah!" he shouted, running across further, but he tripped and barely grabbed on to the rope as the axes continued to move further down. Black Spider sighed and barely stepped onto the rope before jumping off and landing on top of the first ax. He then jumped onto the other one and leaped off, barely touched the rope, grabbed Ragdoll, and threw him over, jumping after him. Once they were on the other side Flag grabbed Ragdoll by the fabric on his chest and slammed him into the wall.

"Alright, I need answers! First a block of concrete falls on top of your head and you don't even flinch, now you cut your shoulder cut by an ax, but you aren't even bleeding! What the hell is going on?" shouted Flag.

"What the hell, Flag?! You really think I could have done something to myself during all that time I was _unconscious in the hospital?!_ "

"Flag, lay off!" shouted Spider, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him away.

"What the hell is going on over there?" shouted Deadshot.

"I don't know Lawton, but look." Said Killer Frost as the axes finally cut through the rope.

"Well shit." Said Deadshot.

"Don't sweat it. I never do." Responded Frost as she froze the axes and created a walkway connecting the two sides.

"Why couldn't you have just done that at the beginning?" asked Deadshot.

"Flag seemed so intent on walking the rope, I didn't want to crush his dreams." Lawton chuckled. The three of them then walked over to the other side and Lawton stepped in between Flag and Ragdoll.

"Alright, what the hell is going on?"

"You can't tell me you're not the least bit curious as to how Ragdoll is suddenly invincible?" he shouted.

They all then looked at him.

"It might've been the radiation. I mean, who's to say that the bio-weapon was actually deadly, and it didn't just enhance people?" suggested Deadshot.

Flag glared at Ragdoll. "Yeah, maybe. Come on, let's keep going." He then walked in front of them and pressed the elevator button and they were all pleased to find that it was a normal elevator. They squeezed in and it took them to the highest floor it could access, and they all prepared themselves for the worst, but they were each surprised to find…

"A normal office building?" asked Deadshot. It was nothing but cubicles and people typing on computers. Flag cautiously stepped out and none of the people typing took any notice of him.

"This… is weird…" said Poison Ivy.

"Too weird." Agreed Killer Frost.

The six of them entered the room and began wandering around, attempting to get people's attention, but nothing worked. They were all completely fixated on their computers, not even noticing the Suicide Squad.

"I know Lock-Up is a talented architect, but this is beyond his capabilities. There has to be a higher force at play here." Said Black Spider.

"I gotta agree with you on that one, Spider. We need to find him immediately." Said Flag.

"Okay, as if that wasn't weird enough, have none of you noticed the windows?" asked Poison Ivy. "When we left the Iceberg Lounge it was just becoming night, and we've only been away from it for like an hour and a half, not to mention the police were surrounding the building making demands. Now it looks like it's the middle of the day, and there are no cops anywhere."

"Whoa." Said Frost.

"Alright everyone, we really do need to get going." Said Flag as he walked towards the elevator. He pressed the button and immediately all hell broke loose.

Everyone typing on computers immediately got up and their hands were suddenly revealed to be guns. They all must have been robots. They immediately began firing. Ragdoll got hit a few times, but not of the bullets had an effect. Deadshot also got shot in the shoulder, and then again in the side.

"Gah!" he shouted, falling to the ground. Ivy grabbed a desk and flipped it over, pulling it towards them to provide cover. Spider grabbed one of Deadshot's guns and he and Flag were the only ones firing at the robots.

"Oh, fuck this." said Frost. She got up and blasted ice at the robots, completely encasing them all in ice.

"Well, that solves that. Frost, stay here with Deadshot, see what you can do about his wounds. Ragdoll, Ivy, Spider, we're headed up to the top floor. It's time Lock-Up got what was coming to him." Said Flag, emptying his gun and reloading it. The four of them got into the elevator as Frost attempted to freeze Deadshot's wounds to keep him from bleeding out.

Luckily, there was only the top floor remaining. The door opened and they saw Lock-Up brutally beating up Bruce Wayne. Ragdoll was the first one to exit the elevator, but was immediately met with two walls covered in spikes slamming into each other. When they separated, Ragdoll had multiple punctures all over his body and he was clearly dead.

"I guess he wasn't invincible…" said Rick Flag with a shocked look on his face. Lock-Up looked up as blood as dripping off of his glove. He dropped Wayne and said "What the hell are you doing here?"

Black Spider quickly jumped out of the elevator, dodging the walls and punched Lock-Up in the throat. He grabbed his chest and slammed him into the glass table, breaking it, slamming him into the ground. Lock-Up then placed both hands on Spider's face and started crushing his head. Both Flag and Ivy were able to jump through, avoiding the slamming walls. Flag shot Lock-Up in the shoulder, causing him to let go. However, he punched Spider in the face, knocking him off. Before anyone else could do anything, Ivy screamed and had vines burst from the ground, grabbing each of Lock-Up's limbs and pulling them as far away from each other as possible without ripping them off.

He screamed.

She had them pull a little harder.

"Stop!" shouted Bruce Wayne.

"I'm saving your life! Be happy I'm not planning on killing you like last time we met!"

He scowled at her and she glared at him. Flag stepped in and changed the subject. "Bolton, how the hell did you do this to the building?"

He didn't answer. Flag looked at Ivy and she nodded, pulling harder.

"Ah! I was given tech from Apokolips!"

"By who?"

"I don't know! I swear!"

 _I wonder how many times I've heard someone say that._ Wondered Bruce Wayne silently.

"We'll see about that. Lyle Bolton, you are under arre-" but before he could finish his sentence, Poison Ivy grabbed a piece of the broken table and hit Flag in the head, knocking him unconscious. Everyone else got up and cautiously inched towards Ivy.

"You're not going to prison, Bolton. You're going somewhere much worse."

"Doesn't matter where I go. I've still left my mark on you." He said, grinning.

She then screamed and had the vines throw him at the window. He broke through it and Ivy ran over to watch him fall. He didn't scream as he fell, which Ivy found disappointing, but she did enjoy seeing him splatter right in front of Commissioner Gordon. He looked up, but Spider pulled her away before he could see her.

"I found a box that looks Apokoliptian, it must be what's keeping the building in this state."

"Well find a way to turn it off."

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" he responded, irritated.

"If you don't mind, we've studied these motherboxes before. I can find a way." Bruce Wayne grabbed the motherbox from Black Spider and pressed a button immediately turning the building back to what it was supposed to look like.

Ivy then turned to Spider and said "Just so we're clear, Flag got hit in the head and knocked out by Lock-Up."

"Is that not what happened?" he responded, which was met with a grin from Ivy.

Everything seemed completed and good, but then a message appeared on the TV. It was Lock-Up.

"So, whoever you are, it looks like you've found a way to disable the Apokoliptian… remodel of Wayne Industries. You haven't won though, because the building is going to self-destruct in about, oh let's go with one minute. I want you to die with a glimmer of hope left in you that you can survive."


	7. The Great Escape

"Grab Flag, I have a way to get us out of here." Said Ivy.

"What about Deadshot and Killer Frost?" asked Spider.

"It's a suicide mission, remember?"

Spider sighed. "Fine." He grabbed Flag and dragged him over to Ivy.

"Everyone gather around." said Ivy to the CEO's, and they did as they told.

 _I can't believe I'm actually being saved by Poison Ivy. What the hell is she even doing here? And with Black Spider of all people? I'll need to look into this._ thought Bruce Wayne to himself.

Once they were all close, Ivy had a collection of vines burst from the floor and form around them in a sphere shape, and she reinforced each vine with more vines and wood.

"Seriously? This is your plan?" asked an annoyed Spider.

"It's worked before, just trust me. Waiting's the worst part." She said as she focused her energy on keeping the plants where they were.

Fifteen seconds.

Ten seconds.

"This had better work…" muttered Black Spider.

 _You said it._ Silently agreed Bruce Wayne.

Five seconds.

One second.

Boom.

They all felt the explosion, but it did not break the plant shield. It shook and it got hotter, but it did not break. However, it fell with the rest of the building and it made everyone, even Bruce Wayne, feel extremely nauseous as they were freefalling without seeing where they were going. Eventually they hit solid ground and the plant sphere shattered. Most of the CEO's were screaming and breathing heavily as they ran towards the police. Bruce went with them, but shot one last suspicious look at Ivy. She made eye contact with and glared for a split second before breaking it. As soon as Flag woke up he ran back to the sewers, followed by Spider and Ivy. All three of them were surprised to find Deadshot and Killer Frost waiting for them.

"How the hell did you two survive?" asked Ivy.

"As soon as I covered up his wounds, we hightailed it out of there. And when the building went back to normal that just made it easier for us. Where's Ragdoll?" said Killer Frost.

"Dead." Said Flag.

"Guess he wasn't as invincible as you thought." Mocked Deadshot.

"Shut up. We need to get back to base, Waller is going to be pissed.

He was right.

She spent a good thirty minutes shouting at them and berating them, barely even acknowledging Ragdoll's death. Once she was done shouting at them, she ordered Deadshot to remain in the medical bay for treatment and made the rest of them return to their cells.

Later, the six Board Directors were gathered in the meeting hall. Waller sighed.

"So the Suicide Squad has had their first casualty."

A few eyebrows were raised.

"Ragdoll was killed by one of Lock-Up's tricks." Hamilton's eyes widened, but he controlled himself. "We need to delve into the reserve roster to choose his replacement."

"Do we even need to replace him?" offered Lord. "I mean, we still have eleven members, twelve counting Flag, and we never send all of them on a mission at once, so what's the point, really?"

"I have to say I agree with Maxwell," said Rochev, "We already have enough manpower on the team."

"You can never have too much manpower! And it's better to always have more options!" said Eiling.

"All in favor of replacing Ragdoll." Said Waller. She, Eiling, Strange, and Hamilton all raised their hands. Hamilton only agreed because he needed a new test subject. Deadshot was in the medical bay, but he isn't in a bad enough condition to not remember the meeting, and he couldn't trust him to keep the secret.

"Overruled." Said Waller.

"We agreed that members had to be voted in unanimously-" began Lord.

"But this is a separate matter. When we decide on his replacement, that will have to be unanimous."

Lord sighed. "Fine." Rochev gave in as well.

Hamilton pulled up the reserve roster. "Our options are Bane, Scarecrow, Parasite, Killer Croc, Ocean Master, David Cain, El Diablo, Reverse-Flash, and Harley Quinn."

"I vote El Diablo. Of everyone on that list he'll be easiest to control, and at the moment we don't need any more problems with the Squad than we already have." Said Lord.

"I want David Cain-" began Eiling.

"His whereabouts are still unknown, General. I agree on Diablo." Said Rochev.

Eventually, El Diablo was voted into the Suicide Squad as Ragdoll's replacement.

Later, General Eiling traveled to Belle Reve Penitentiary and met with El Diablo.

"Chato Santana, alias El Diablo. My name is General Wade Eiling."

"What are you doing here?" he asked cautiously.

"I'm here with a proposal. An organization I'm affiliated with has a team called the Suicide Squad. We take criminals from prison and send them on dangerous missions in exchange for shorter sentences-"

"I'm in! I'll do anything to get out of this hellhole!" he yelled eagerly.

"Well alright then." Eiling got up and left the room, allowing Diablo to be gassed.

Meanwhile, back at A.R.G.U.S. Headquarters, Maxwell Lord and Isabel Rochev were once more embracing in their extra-curricular activities in Rochev's office. However, they got an unexpected visitor in the form of Amanda Waller.

"Rochev, I have an important matter to discuss with you- what the hell is going on here?!" she shouted as soon as she saw the two of them.

Lord sighed and blinked his eyes, causing Waller to do the same and she became idle.

"You didn't see this."

"I didn't see this."

"Leave. And shut the door."

She did as she was told.

"How the hell did you do that?!" demanded Rochev.

He sighed. "I'm getting really tired of doing this." he blinked. "You didn't see that."

"I didn't see that." She shook her head and got a confused look on her face. "What just happened?"

"Nothing happened." He said, kissing her neck.

Hamilton was in his office pacing back and forth. "How could he have died? I injected him with a serum that had blood from a Kryptonian in it! It doesn't make any sense! I'll have to test it again! I'll have to-" and then he took notice of the two missing vials. "What the hell?!"

"Lose something, Professor Hamilton?"

Hamilton spun his head to the door. "Strange… what are you doing in my lab?"

"I had some business to take care of with you."

"What do you mean?"

Strange walked forward and grabbed a test tube which was filled with an experimental acid concentration.

"Strange… back up! I'm warning you! Back up or I'll-"

"You'll what?" he asked. He didn't wait for an answer, and he instead threw the acid concentration onto Hamilton's face.

"Ah!" Strange walked over to him and placed his hand over his mouth. "Be quiet, we wouldn't want anyone to hear you. But don't worry, your legacy won't die with you, Professor. I've been growing a clone of you using your own research. No one will have any idea the real you is dead. And once the truth comes out, no one will miss you." Mocked Strange as he suffocated the burning Hamilton until his breathing had stopped. He threw his corpse to the side, his head banging on to the table and falling to the ground as Strange smiled deviously.

"Tim, come over here." Said Bruce Wayne, who was sitting in front of the Bat Computer with his cowl pulled back. Robin ceased his sparring against the training-bot and walked over to the Computer.

"Approximately three weeks ago Poison Ivy and Ragdoll were taken from Arkham Asylum under government authority." He explained.

"What does that mean?" asked Robin.

"I'm not sure. But on the same day, mere hours later, a total of ten prisoners were taken from Belle Reve. Deadshot, Deathstroke, Firefly, Black Manta, Captain Boomerang, Black Spider, Plastique, Killer Frost, King Shark, and Multiplex. And yesterday when Wayne Industries was destroyed, Poison Ivy and Black Spider were there with an unidentified man wearing an A.R.G.U.S. symbol on his shoulder. But here's the strange thing… they were there to save us." The Batman was stumped, something that does not happen very often.

"So, what? A.R.G.U.S. took some bad guys out of their cells and are using them to go on missions? That's messed up." Concluded Robin.

Batman pulled his cowl on. "I'm going to pay our old friend Amanda Waller a visit."


End file.
